Inclination hinge for the bow of a pair of eyeglasses

ABSTRACT

An inclination joint for a spectacle side ( 3 ) is described, comprising a joint bar ( 7 ) which is guided between the side walls ( 9 ) of a receiving pocket ( 8 ) of a spectacle side cheek ( 5 ) and which is swivelably held in an inclination axle ( 10 ) penetrating the receiving pocket ( 8 ) and can be latched in various inclination positions by means of a snap-in toothing ( 12 ) made of the joint bar ( 7 ) on the one hand and rows of teeth ( 13, 14 ) associated with the spectacle side cheek ( 5 ) on the other hand. In order to ensure favorable constructional conditions it is proposed that on at least one of the side walls ( 9 ) of the receiving pocket ( 8 ) and the adjacent side surface of the joint bar ( 7 ) there is provided a row of teeth ( 13, 14 ) each of the snap-in toothing ( 12 ) whose teeth are aligned in the direction of introduction ( 15 ) of the joint bar ( 7 ) into the receiving pocket ( 8 ).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Applicant claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of AUSTRIAN ApplicationNo. A 1695/98 filed on Oct. 12, 1998. Applicant also claims priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §120 of PCT/AT99/00227, filed on Sep. 16, 1999. Theinternational application under PCT article 21(2) was not published inEnglish.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an inclination joint for a spectacle side witha joint bar which is guided between the side walls of a receiving pocketof a side cheek and which is swivelably held in an inclination axlepenetrating the receiving pocket and can be latched in variousinclination positions by means of a snap-in toothing made of the jointbar on the one hand and rows of teeth associated with the side cheek onthe other hand.

STATE OF THE ART

The purpose of the angular adjustment of a spectacle side it is known(WO 98/02770 A1) to provide a receiving pocket for a joint bar on theside cheeks on which the spectacle side is articulated by means of aconventional side joint. Said joint bar is held swivelably between thetwo side walls of the receiving pocket by an inclination axlepenetrating the side walls and the joint bar, which joint bar extends inthe stretched position of the side transversally to the same andtransversally to the rotational axis of the side joint, so that the sidecan be set in its inclination with respect to the spectacle frame. Theset inclination position of the side is secured by a snap-in toothingwhich consists of toothed ring sections, which are coaxial to theinclination axle, on the side walls of the receiving pockets and innertoothed ring sections which cooperate with the same which are arrangedon the shoulders of the joint bar which overlap the toothed face sidesof the side walls of the receiving pocket. Since the inclinationadjustment of the sides merely demands small angular steps for theadjustment to the anatomical particularities of an eyeglass wearer, itis necessary to provide the snap-in teeth of the snap-in toothing with asmall arrangement, which despite facilitating the skipping of teeth ofthe snap-in toothing during an inclination adjustment also makes asturdy snap-in connection more difficult, because bearing plays andproduction tolerances have a direct influence due to snap-in toothingwhich is coaxial to the inclination axle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is thus based on the object of arranging an inclinationjoint of the kind mentioned above in such a way that even under theconditions of series production, a secure latching seat of the side inthe respectively chosen inclinatory position can be ensured.

The invention achieves the object in such a way that on at least one ofthe side walls of the receiving pocket and the adjacent side surface ofthe joint bar there is provided a row of teeth each of the snap-intoothing whose teeth are aligned in the direction of introduction of thejoint bar into the receiving pocket.

Since as a result of said measures the snap-in toothing is not performedalong a cylinder coaxial to the inclination axle, but in a planeperpendicular to the inclination axle, tolerance ranges concerning theradial dimensions of the inclination joint do not play any role in thesecurity of the latching seat of the joint bar in the receiving pocketas provided for by the snap-in toothing. The alignment of the teeth ofthe snap-in toothing in the direction of introduction of the joint barinto the receiving pocket allows a simple assembly of the inclinationjoint because the joint bar can be introduced into the receiving pocketparallel to the tooth alignment in order to be tightly held in thereceiving pocket by the subsequently inserted inclination axle. Theinclination position of the joint bar which corresponds to the directionof introduction of the joint bar into the receiving pocket, whichpreferably is the middle position, is adequately secured by means of theparallel teeth of the mutually engaging rows of teeth of the snap-intoothing, namely under a substantial tolerance compensation because witha growing distance of the teeth from the tooth lying in an axial planeof the inclination axle the angle of the tooth alignment increasestowards an associated radius concerning the inclination axle. If thejoint bar is turned from said inclination position, the teeth of the rowof teeth on the joint bar side will turn with respect to the teeth ofthe receiving pocket, which leads to a further tolerance compensationbecause the teeth of the mutually engaging rows of teeth of the snap-intoothing engage under an elastic pretension. The turning of the teethaccording to the angular steps as given by the division of the teeth isrestricted to a few angular steps, which does not play any role in theinclination adjustment of a spectacle side because the inclinationadjustment can be limited to a small angular range. It is thus seen thatthe measures in accordance with the invention lead to an inclinationjoint which allows a latching seat which is free from play for the setinclination positions. The arrangement of the rows of teeth between theside surfaces of the joint bar and the adjacent side walls of thereceiving pocket also offers advantageous prerequisites for the elasticskipping of the teeth of the snap-in toothing during the latchingadjustment because the side walls of the receiving pocket can reboundaccordingly.

In order to allow achieving particularly simple constructionalconditions the snap-in toothing can comprise a row of teeth extending ina straight line on at least one side surface of the joint bar and anassociated row of teeth with a larger width in the orifice zone of thereceiving pocket. The larger width of the row of teeth associated withthe receiving pocket is necessary in a straight row of teeth of thejoint bar in order to take the mutual offset of the mutually engagingrows of teeth into account during a swiveling adjustment of the jointbar. In this connection it is also necessary to consider that the widthof the tooth row of the joint bar must remain limited so as to alsoensure a tooth engagement of the snap-in toothing also after a swivelingof the joint bar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter of the invention is shown by way of an example in thedrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a spectacle with an inclination joint in accordance withthe invention for a spectacle side in a sectional view in the zone ofthe inclination joint, showing a side view of the inner side of thespectacle side;

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view along line II—II of FIG. 1 on a largerscale, and

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view along line III—III of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The spectacle shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a frame 1 for receivingspectacle glasses 2 and two spectacle sides 3 which are articulated on aspectacle side cheek 5 of frame 1 via a side joint 4. The side joint 4is not rigid, however, but is connected with the spectacle side cheek 5by way of an inclination joint 6 which consists of a joint bar 7 whichengages in a receiving pocket 8 of the spectacle side cheek 5. The jointbar 7 which is guided between the side walls 9 of the receiving pocket 8is held swivelably in the receiving pocket 8 by means of an inclinationaxle 10 which penetrates the side walls 9 and the joint bar 7, so thatspectacle side 3 which is articulated on the joint bar 7 of theinclination joint 6 can be adjusted, in its stretched position as shownin FIG. 1, in its inclination transversally to its longitudinaldirection and transversally to the joint axle 11.

In order to secure the respective inclination position a snap-intoothing 12 is provided which consists of rows of teeth 13 and 14 whichcooperate in pairs and which are provided, on the one hand, in theorifice zone of the receiving pocket 8 on the inner side of the sidewalls 9 of the receiving pocket 8 and, on the other hand, on theadjacent side surfaces of the joint bar 7. As is shown in particular inFIG. 3, the teeth of the rows of teeth 13 and 14 are not alignedradially towards the inclination axle 10, but parallel to one another,with the tooth alignment corresponding to the direction of introduction(as indicated by arrow 15) of the joint bar 7 into the receiving pocket8. As a result of this measure it is possible to easily insert the jointbar 7 during the mounting of the inclination joint 6 into the receivingpocket 8 under simultaneous latching engagement of the snap-in toothing12 in order to be held in a rotationally adjustable manner by way of theinclination axle 10 in the receiving pocket 8. From said middle positionwhich is given by the direction of introduction 15, the joint bar 7 canbe swiveled up or down by one or two teeth, with the rows of teeth 14 ofthe joint bar 7 being rotated by the inclination step towards the rowsof teeth 13. This means that the teeth must engage under a low inclinedposition, which is only possible with an elastic pretension of the toothengagement. This elastic pretension leads to a fixing of the joint bar 7which is free from play within the receiving pocket 8 with a sufficientlatching seat so as to avoid any undesirable inclination adjustment ofthe side 3. As is shown in FIG. 3, the rows of teeth 14 of the joint bar7 extend straight and perpendicular to the direction of introduction 15,with the width of the teeth being chosen smaller than the width of theteeth of the rows of teeth 13 in order to take into account the mutualdisplacement of the cooperating rows of teeth 13 and 14 in the directionof the tooth width during the setting of the inclination.

What is claimed is:
 1. An inclination joint for pivotally holding aspectacle sidepiece on an inclination axle in a side cheek of aspectacle frame, wherein the sidepiece comprises a joint bar, the sidecheek defines a receiving pocket having side walls wherebetween thejoint bar is introduced into the receiving pocket and guided between theside walls, the inclination axle passing through the receiving pocket,and a snap-in toothing for latching the spectacle sidepiece in variousinclination positions, the snap-in toothing comprising a first row ofteeth in at least one of the side walls of the receiving pocket and asecond row of teeth in an adjacent surface of the joint bar and meshingwith the first row of teeth, the teeth being in alignment. with thedirection of introduction of the joint bar into the receiving pocket. 2.An inclination joint for pivotally holding a spectacle sidepiece on aninclination axle in a side cheek of a spectacle frame, wherein thesidepiece comprises a joint bar, the side cheek defines a receivingpocket having side walls wherebetween the joint bar is introduced intothe receiving pocket and guided between the side walls, the inclinationaxle passing through the receiving pocket, and a snap-in toothing forlatching the spectacle sidepiece in various inclination positions, thesnap-in toothing comprising a first row of teeth in at least one of theside walls of the receiving pocket and a second row of teeth in anadjacent surface of the joint bar and meshing with the first row ofteeth, the teeth being in alignment with the direction of introductionof the joint bar into the receiving pocket, wherein the second row ofteeth extending in a straight line transverse to the direction ofintroduction, and the teeth of the first row being wider than the teethof the second row, the first row of teeth extending in an end zone ofthe receiving pocket through which the joint bar is introduced.